The advertising watchdog found the adverts, which appeared on sites such as Papa Johns, Domino’s Pizza, Trainline, Argos, Moonpig and Asda, were misleading.
The ruling forms part of a wider piece of work by the ASA on ‘online choice architecture’, following complaints received and intelligence gathered by the regulator.
Pop-ups appeared after a customer had purchased an item online, offering them cashback of just over £20.
Text on the adverts said shoppers could click on a link “to claim the above reward, credited onto your card when you next place an order” with the retailer.
But, the small print of the offer involved signing up for a ‘partner programme’ with Complete Savings for £18 a month.
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Webloyalty told the ASA it believed that the average consumer would interpret the word “reward” as being a welcome reward for joining the programme because the text under the “Continue” button stated, “By tapping above, you can join our partner programme for 18 pounds/month and claim your reward”.
It also explained that when the “Continue” button was clicked, the following webpage made clear that the reward was contingent upon joining the Complete Savings website.
Webloyalty said it also believed it was clear that the ads, and the cashback service itself, were offered by a third-party service.
However, after an investigation, the ASA considered that the phrasing of “Continue” gave customers the impression that it was necessary to click that button in order to conclude their activity on the webpage.
‘Nothing indicated it was third party communication’
The regulator also noted that there was nothing in the content of the ad placed upfront to indicate to consumers it was a marketing communication for a third party, and it considered that this reinforced the impression that consumers would click “Continue” on the basis that it would finalise their activity in relation to the purchase they had just made.
The ASA also pointed out that rewards were normally offered in exchange for, or as recompense for, doing a particular action. Therefore, it considered that the term “reward” suggested that the cashback was offered as a complimentary benefit to consumers in exchange for placing their order via the retailer.
The ASA said the ads must not appear again in their current form. It told Webloyalty International Ltd t/a Webloyalty, and the retailers involved, to ensure that their ads were clearly identifiable as ads for a third-party subscription scheme and that the presentation of choices was clear.